The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A MONEY tranmission provider’s bill payment platform is looking to increase customer traffic by at least 40 per cent over the next four to five months, with several options to be added to its offering.

Jason Clarke, a consultant for Cash N-Go (CNG), said that in addition to more bill payment options, the company was looking to expand its outlets in New Providence.

Cash ‘N Go currently offers services, including bill payments, at seven locations in Nassau, Grand Bahama, Abaco and Exuma, and Mr Clarke said: “Right now we are getting about 7,000 a month walking through our doors.

“We are definitely looking for those numbers to drive up at least 40 per cent over the next four to five months with all the new services we are adding. We have a lot of foot traffic right now,” he added.

“It’s still a very cash heavy society, so people are looking to pay their bills in cash. Cash N-Go is definitely something Bahamians are gravitating to. The banks offer the service, too, but with the banks it’s a delay. You put the money on an account, they send it, it’s processed a day or two later, but with us payments are in real time.

“You can walk in, give minimal information and we can tell you your balance and, if you’re disconnected, we can get you reconnected the same day. We are basically an extension of those vendors.

“We have several locations across the Bahamas; that allows us to offer those services free of charge to the public, and makes it a lot more convenient for them to pay their bills. It’s a great advantage for the public, and for us it’s fulfilling a business model we have, because we definitely want to be known as a bill payment mecca as well as offer financial services to the public.”

Cash ‘N Go, according to Mr Clarke, is looking to expand its operations in New Providence and add additional payment services to its offering.

“We have BTC bill payment, BEC, Grand Bahama Power, Grand Bahama Utility and we are the exclusive vendor for payments for US Embassy Visa, which was launched two weeks ago,”he said.

“We do TopUp, school loans. We also sell Sky Bahamas and Western Air tickets. We are also an agent for MoneyGram. We are looking to add Water and Sewerage in another month, we hope to get Cable Bahamas on board, and probably two other products, cheque cashing and payday loans where you get a small loan from us and pay us back over two or three pay days.”

In terms of expansion, Mr Clarke said: “Eight Mile Rock is our newest location, which opened late last year. We definitely have plans for some of the other areas. We are definitely targeting some areas in Nassau. We are looking to open up a number of outlets before the year is out now that bill pay is on.”